WFA Preview

Jul 22, 2006 1:15 AM Scott White

Quinton Jackson vs. Matt Lindland

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has a mixed martial arts record of 24-6. Quinton Jackson is a wrestler and known for his huge slams. He also has the ability to stand and strike. Jackson is currently on a two fight win streak and he’ll look to add to that this Saturday when be breaks the law. Jackson much like Lindland is very experienced and has fought some of the best. “Rampage” has gone up against the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Shogun, Arona, Randleman, Ninja and many more.

Jackson is very good at blocking shots and when the fight goes to the clinch he tends to go for a leg and attempt a slam. He is a very powerful and explosive fighter. It’ll be interesting to see how Lindland handles him as Rampage will be the bigger fighter.

Rampage is a fairly good wrestler but he cannot solely focus on that. If he does that this is what could lose him the fight as Lindland is the much better wrestler. He needs to expose Lindland’s weaknesses and make sure he avoids playing into his strengths.

Rampage has very effective ground and pound and he is also versed in the submission. He can handle himself where ever the fight goes. I can’t wait for Saturday to see Rampage break the law.

Matt “The Law” Lindland has a professional record of 18-3. He is currently on a seven fight win streak with victories over Lutter, Van Arsdale, Schembri, Doerksen, Weir, Leopoldo and Showalter. Lindland has spent his career at 185 lbs but he’ll be making the move up to 205 lbs to face Quinton Jackson. Lindland’s three losses came to Vitale, Terrell and Bustamente.

Lindland brings an amazing wrestling game to the octagon. Lindland was a silver medalist at the Olympics and afterwards he made his transition to mixed martial arts. Lindland trains with the likes of Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Nate Quarry and more. He has very good greco roman wrestling.

My knock against Lindland is his chin. He got dropped by Vitale and Terrell, both which left him out cold. Quinton Jackson is just as good as those two if not better. Also Quinton Jackson is a natural 205 pound fighter. Lindland has weak striking and he throws wild punches to set up takedowns in the clinch. Against Jackson this may be a mistake because he’ll leave himself open.

My Pick: Quinton Jackson
Bas Rutten vs. Ruben Villareal

“El Guapo” Bas Rutten sports a mixed martial arts record of 27-4-1. Bas is very well versed in submissions and he is also a dangerous striker. Bas began his career in Pancrase in 1993 and by 1995 he won his first “King of Pancrase” title. He won the title three more times later on. In 1998 he signed with the UFC and won the heavyweight belt.

Bas was forced to retire by 1999 because of some serious injures he suffered from. Bas blew out his knee which has had long term effects and he also tore his bicep. It will be interesting to see how his body holds up in a fight since he has not been active since the injury. It’ll also be interesting to see how he handles the ring rust being on a seven year layoff.

Bas Rutten is well known for his kicks and punches to the liver. He has a background in tae kwon do, kyokushin and muay thai. He brings tons of experience to the octagon and has fought a who’s who list of fighters. He is also currently on a seven fight winning streak.

“El Guapo’s” original opponent was expected to be Kimo but he tested positive to a banned substance in his pre-fight drug test. Wes Sims was rumored to be the replacement but he has other commitments so Rutten will now face Ruben “Warpath” Villareal.

”Warpath” sports a record of 10-7-3 with nine of his wins coming by knockout. He recently fought Don Frye to a draw. The journeyman heavyweight has a wrestling background.

My Pick: Bas Rutten

Marvin Eastman vs. Jorge Oliveira

Marvin “The Beastman” Eastman sports a mixed martial arts record of 13-6. Eastman is a former football player who spent some time in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders. Many fight fans will remember “The Beastman” from his fight against Vitor Belfort in which Belfort nailed Eastman with a knee which opened up a huge cut.

Eastman always comes into his fights in very good shape. Eastman has experience in muay thai and he has wrestled for over 15 years. In his 19 fights he has gone up against the likes of Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin, Vernon White, and Quinton Jackson along with others.

Jorge Oliveira is a former student of Carlson Gracie. He now trains with Chute Boxe USA. He has a mixed martial arts record of 2-1. Oliveira has a good ground game and his striking is improving as he is training with Chute Boxe. Oliveria lacks experience and he hasn’t fought the big names which scatter Eastman’s card. Eastman should prove to be a fairly tough test for Oliveira.
My Pick: Marvin Eastman
Rob McCullough vs. Harris Sarmiento

“Razor” Rob McCullough sports a mixed martial arts record of 12-3. Eight of his wins have come by knockout/technical knockout. He is currently on a six fight win streak with his last lost coming against none other then Sarmiento. This is a rematch from their previous fight which saw Sarmiento win via a judge’s decision. McCullough is a difficult fighter to finish and all of his losses have been decisions.

”Razor” Rob is a very accomplished muay thai fighter and he is the five time United World Muay Thai Assositation Champion. He is also a very good kick boxer.

Harris Sarmiento has a record of 18-14. He is currently on a four-fight losing streak with losses to big names such as Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez. He brings lots of experience to the cage as he has fought big names such as Nick Diaz, Josh Thomson, Gilbert Melendez, and more.

One big thing I noticed about Sarmiento’s record is that ten of his victories have come by decisions. That goes to show me that he lacks the killer instinct and has trouble finishing his opponents.

My Pick: Rob McCullough
Jason Miller vs. Lodune Sincaid

Jason “Mayhem” Miller is an interesting character. His off the wall antics inside and outside of the octagon make him an instant hit with many fans. “Mayhem” has a mixed martial arts record of 15-4. He would have liked to have been much more active this year but he found himself in legal troubles which forced him to drop a title fight with Robbie Lawler in Icon Sport.

”Mayhem” Miller possesses tons of heart. There is no quit in him and his fight against Georges St. Pierre is a perfect example of this. “Mayhem” is a very talented submission artist. Ten of his fifteen wins have come from the submission. “Mayhem” is an average striker. He is also very flexible which helps him when applying and avoiding submissions.

In the past “Mayhem” has spent time training up at Big Bear with Team Punishment. He is now said to be training at the new Legends Gym which is run by former UFC champions Randy Couture and Bas Rutten.

Miller is currently on a three-fight winning streak with victories against Gamlin (he is 362 lbs), Vitale and Moreno. His last loss came against UFC superstar Georges St. Pierre in which he lost a unanimous decision. That is a pretty good feat considering the only other two fighters to take St. Pierre to a decision are Karo Parisyan and B.J. Penn. It’ll be interesting to see how Miller handles fighting at 205lbs.

Miller’s opponent is Lodune “The Vanilla Gorilla” Sincaid. A lot of fans will know Sincaid from his time spent on the first season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. While on the show Sincaid came across as a funny yet weird character. He spent more time drinking then focusing on fighting. He only fought once while on the show and was knocked out by Bobby Southworth.

Sincaid has a mixed martial arts record of 9-2 and he is currently on a three-fight winning streak with victories over Alex Schoenauer, James Irvin and Dan Molina.

Sincaid has a background in tae kwon doe and wrestling. Six of his victories have come from submissions.

My Pick: Jason Miller
Ivan Salaverry vs. Art Santore

Ivan Salaverry sports a mixed martial arts record of 11-4. The Canadian born fighter has a background in karate, wrestling, jiu-jitsu and kickboxing. Salaverry is recently coming off of a loss to Nathan Mardquart which say him get the boot from the UFC. Salaverry has expressed his opinion on the situation and it wasn’t friendly.

Salaverry trains with AMC Pancration and has fought the likes of Mardquart, Riggs, Lindland and more. He brings good experience to the octagon and should be fine handling the pressure of fighting in a big show.

Art “Pachuco” Santore sports a mixed martial arts record of 14-4. He trains with Team Quest and has a jiu-jitsu background.

Santore has never really faced any big names and has spent most of his time in smaller shows. He will have his hands full with Salaverry.
My Pick: Ivan Salaverry
Ron Waterman vs. Ricco Rodriguez

Ron “H2O” Waterman has a mixed martial arts record of 13-3-2. He has fought the likes of Cro Cop, TK, Randleman, Rodriguez and more. He has fought in PRIDE so he brings some valuable experience with him.

Waterman is a very big and agile heavyweight. He is an all-American wrestler and a very gifted athlete. His bread and butter is his ground and pound. When on the canvas Waterman has a very strong based which allows him to work the ground and pound.

Waterman and Rodriguez have already fought once in the past. The fight took place on 08/18/2005 at WEC Clash of the Titans II. Waterman defeated Rodriguez via a unanimous decision.

Ricco “Sauve” Rodriguez has a mixed martial arts record of 22-6. Fourteen of those victories came via submissions. Ricco is the former UFC heavyweight champion. He lost his belt to the current UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. He later went on to fight in PRIDE where he lost.

Lately things haven’t been too good for Ricco. His weight has balloon and he is now in terrible shape. To do well in this fight he needs to get himself focused again and get back into the shape he used to be in. He seems to be in it for a pay check and that’s all.

Ricco is currently 280 lbs and he is training with Team Punishment. He has a background in wrestling and jiu-jitsu. He will bring loads of experience into the octagon as he has battled against the likes of Nogueira, Rizzo, Couture, Arlovski and many more.

My Pick: Ron Waterman
Vernon White vs. Ryoto Machida

Vernon “Tiger” White sports a mixed martial arts record of 24-27-2. The star pupil of Ken Shamrock’s Lions Den is currently on a two fight winning streak with victories over Jason Guida and Alex Stiebling. White comes to the fight with tons of experience. In the past he has fought the likes of Chuck Liddell, Jeremy Horn, Bas Rutten, Kazushi Sakuraba and many more.

Vernon White brings a very well rounded game to the octagon. He has the ability to throw a very hard front leg roundhouse to the head and leg. Also from time to time he’ll try to mix in the flying knee. White is very well versed in submissions and he is very good when on the bottom. He brings a lot of explosiveness when he fights and he has no fear of standing and going toe to toe. In the past he has shown the ability to regain his composure when in trouble and he has a good recovery time.

Ryoto Machida enters this fight with a ton of hype surrounding him. The undefeated prospect sports a mixed martial arts record of 7-0 with victories over the likes of B.J. Penn, Rich Franklin and tough K-1 fighter Michael McDonald. That is a pretty impressive resume for a young prospect. I don’t know a ton about Machida’s game as I’ve only seen him fight twice (Bonnar, Franklin) but I think it is safe to say he brings a pretty solid striking game. He was able to dominated Rich Franklin and Stephan Bonnar, both of who are great strikers and he has a victory over Michael McDonald who is a K-1 caliber striker. It’ll be interesting to see how Machida handles a veteran like Vernon “Tiger” White. This fight could be Machida’s coming out party in the States.
My Pick: Ryoto Machida

I did not recap the other two fights on the card because the bouts are still not confirmed. Be sure to check out Dr.J’s WFA preview.